The sign posted on the facade at the corner of West 4th and Perry Streets read "A.P.C. Work In Progress", so according to a tipster who sent along these photos, neighbors were confused when an "OPEN" was scrawled onto the sign, thus marking the completion of the building's street level transformation from conventional restaurant to French clothing retailer. They're confused because the facade of A.P.C. does not look like anything else in the surrounding West Village, where bistros share blocks with brownstones on tree-lined streets. What used to be a restaurant is now a clothing retailer screened in by a fence of wooden slats the full height of the building's first floor and around the corner, broken only by sections of grey cement. At first glance, it looks like A.P.C. is some sort of cargo cult store, fashioned from discarded packing crates in order to recreate some retail magic at the site of a former, actual store. The last complaint on the Department of Buildings site dates back to 2008, when it's noted that the awning from the restaurant closed by the city had fallen off the facade and was blocking the sidewalk. What do you think? Is this a breath of fresh air for a too-static historic district, or a colossal mistake?
· A.P.C.'s Latest West Village Store Opened About an Hour Ago [RackedNY]
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